After a fifteen year hiatus Guided By Voices (Robert Pollard, Tobin Sprout, Mitch Mitchell, Greg Demos and Kevin Fennell) have capped off a reunion tour with a 21 track album. GBV has been and always will be a staple in indie rock. The endlessly independent band from Dayton, Ohio has long produced its own unique brand of reverberated lo-fidelity brand of music for as long as most indie kids have been alive. Let’s Go Eat The Factory is reminiscent of some of their best past work; Alien Lanes, Bee Thousand immediately come to mind.
The perfect sound for ADD kids, the tracks are gnarly, distorted, and for the most part very short. Sticking to a basic rock sound, each song has elements of the genre in which they are highly responsible for evolving. Robert Pollard still has the same concise songwriting and droning voice he always has, an artist that seems to be aging in reverse. New GBV is hardly a testament to an artist who has strayed, but one who remembers the formula for writing catchy and unique rock.
With content that is somewhat confusing at times, Let’s Go Eat The Factory has plenty of loud quiet loud elements to enjoy. The album begins with the gritty “Laundry and Lasers” that has an element of Spencer Krug Wolf Parade type vocals and reverberating guitar and pounding drums as the backdrop. Short tracks titled “The Head” and “Doughnut for a Snowman” (‘the goofiest and twinkliest track I’ve ever written,’ according to Pollard) follow this opener showing listeners that not all tracks need to be epic and that the point can often be conveyed using little words.
“Spiderfighter” has a distorted twang that is both edgy and captivating until the song drops off into a piano driven croon. Part of the beauty of this album is that there are too many tracks to individually profile. The end result is a brilliantly mixed album full of pure indie glory. GBV has done its best to incorporate all of the elements of the genre both old and new resulting in a diverse and solid album.
Yes, I said there are too many tracks to individually profile, and the beauty of this is that it doesn’t matter. The sonic quickness offered by the album perfectly sets tone, communicates messages, and confuses; all in efficient fashion. Let’s Go Eat The Factory is so different from track to track that listeners may forget that all of the songs are offered by the same band. Charming and in your face at the same time, slow insightful songs such as “Hang Mr. Kite” are immediately followed by powerful anthemic riffs of songs like “God Loves Us” and “The Unsinkable Fats Domino”. Basically just enjoy the ride, because you really don’t know what’s coming next.
Let’s Go Eat The Factory is so much more than a half-assed ‘let’s get the band back together’ attempt at one last hurrah. It’s crystal clear that the chemistry is still existent within the band and the sound produced suggests that they haven’t missed a step after fifteen years. It’s the perfect 90’s sound with just enough new elements to allow it to fit in with contemporary indie without pandering to the new audience. Hipsters of old and new can enjoy this album as it has every element you would expect from old school rock.
Interestingly, the band stayed out of the recording studio and recorded the album in the basements and garages of many of the members. Most of the recording was done in the garage of Mitch Mitchell, a place where the band would often practice back in the day. There is also a sense of diversity within the album as Pollard picks up a variety of equipment and Tobin Sprout sings on a variety of tracks. This entire process results in a fucking weird and organic sound that fans of lo-fi will greatly appreciate.
Presented on sort of a bell-curve, the beginning of the album eases the listener in (‘The Head’, ‘Doughtnut For A Snowman’, ‘Spiderfighting’), the middle gets really weird and energetic (‘Imperial Racehorsing’, ‘How I Met My Mother’, ‘Waves’, ‘Chocolate Boy’ especially) and the end presents a more subdued version of peculiar (‘Old Bones’, ‘Go Rolling Home’, ‘The Room Taking Shape’).
Fuck. This is a good album. It inspires fans of GBV to break out the old albums and remember how and why this band is such a household name within the vein. It’s edgy, it’s intelligent, and it’s completely 90’s. A band from the past, in the present, illuminating the future, an album recorded with technology from the past. It’s strange, its manic nature the perfect winter soundtrack.
